Car makers accused of ‘obstructive’ lobbying over emissions

Car makers furthest away from meeting emissions rules due to be in force in 2020 have been lobbying the hardest against tighter regulations.

That is the conclusion of a new report by InfluenceMap, a non-profit company that tracks lobbying over policy on climate change, and its executive director and co-founder, Dylan Tanner.

InfluenceMap says that its research shows a “remarkable correlation” between car makers’ lobbying efforts against climate-related policy and a lack of progress in their compliance with future standards for emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the European Union and the United States.

The big German car makers lobbied strongly – but have made poor progress on emissions – according to the research. These include Volkswagen, whose share price has sunk by more than 40 per cent after being caught in September cheating emissions tests in diesel cars in America.

Tanner, a scientist who has specialised in environmental technology, told Exaro: “Those companies that have made the least progress toward meeting 2020-21 EU and US emissions and efficiency targets are also the ones being the most obstructive of these targets, by lobbying against them.”

“Compared to some of its competitors, VW has a larger gap to close in terms of meeting 2020-21 EU and US emissions and efficiency standards, and has been one of the most active firms in terms of obstructive lobbying.”

London-based InfluenceMap, which in October published a report to highlight contradictions between public statements by oil and gas companies and their private lobbying over climate policy, says in its new paper on car makers that the VW scandal has exposed risks to investors. The new report is entitled, “Is the Volkswagen scandal the tip of the iceberg?”

“Investors and engagers concerned with climate issues may be inclined to look more closely at this sector in light of the recent regulatory risks exposed by VW ,” it says.  

“The fraud by VW has revealed the potential for exponentially higher penalties should any of the automakers be found to have wilfully manipulated any emissions testing process in this manner.”

Car makers told Exaro that they are on course to meet new emissions rules.

A group of 19 investors, which manage more than £625 billion of assets, wrote to the leading car makers last month to press for greater transparency around their lobbying.

ShareAction, an investor watchdog, co-ordinated the letters, asking nine car makers for “detailed information on the lobbying position that they are taking on emissions legislation currently being debated in the US and EU.”

Tanner, who has a doctorate in theoretical physics, said: “Investors are demanding more disclosure from the companies on their position on future emissions standards, and their activities in trying to influence the regulatory landscape.

“They do not want to see another share-price collapse. And for a certain class of investor, it is not just about financial risk. It is also an ethical issue.”

He continued: “The German companies were found to be lobbying hard two years ago against the CO2 standards due to come into effect in 2020 onwards. Next year will see the debate of standards that will come into effect in 2025, so we will be seeing a new phase of obstructive lobbying.”

VW is listed on Germany’s Xetra stock exchange in Frankfurt. The group’s brands include Audi, Skoda, Seat, Bentley and Porsche.

The VW scandal blew up after America’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that manufacturer’s cars had a “defeat device” in diesel engines, software that could detect when they were being tested and so change their performance. This in turn hugely improved the test results for emissions of nitrogen oxide.

The EPA’s findings covered 482,000 cars in the US, including the Audi A3 and the VW models, Jetta, Beetle, Golf and Passat.

VW has admitted that about 11 million cars worldwide, including 8 million in Europe, are fitted with the “defeat device”. It also said that it has found “irregularities” in tests to measure CO2 emissions, potentially affecting 800,000 cars in Europe – including petrol vehicles.

The InfluenceMap report ranks the world’s 12 largest car-makers according to their lobbying against tighter emissions regulations, and found a correlation with their shortfall in meeting expected standards in 2020.

Additional research by Matthew Gilley.